Olivia being silly

a cold

I'm feeling down and I don't even know why other than maybe it's that I have this dumb cold and Taylor's in Kansas. I took an afternoon nap yesterday and accidentally slept till 3:30 and when I woke up I dashed down to the car and started pulling out only to see Emily and Olivia walking up to the house. They were not happy with their mother. "Sorry guys, I'm sick and I fell asleep". They were mad for a good 5 minutes. I don't get sick often and I fight it with everything from apple-cider viniger to vitamin C to lots of day/nyquil (which is perhaps why I am feeling a little loopy today).
I need something happy. I think I'll take the kids to the pumkin patch soon. I love fall. Maybe tomorrow. Today after school it's play practice, soccer, b-day party, and girl scouts. After that I may collapse.

Front yard picnic

Evan is pooped

Quote

"Efficient systems force the greatest outcome in the shortest period of time with the least expense of resources."

-Sandy Roth

 

Love this quote!  I love efficiency!  Whether it's running a business, a city, or a family, efficiency is key to success.  And efficient systems doesn't mean taking the focus off the people- it's the opposite.  It means getting the machine to run on autopilot so we can focus on the people.  Like a Starbucks cup of coffee.

 

Me holding a toad

Tuesday

I asked Evan what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said,"a chef, so I can cook for you." So cute. He really does love to cook and "helps" out all the time in the kitchen. Tonight we made cream of pumkin soup. Which reminds me, I was on the way out with the garbage when Evan saw his guy (the one pictured a few posts back, we'll call him "Freud") and says,"Mom, my guy, you can't throw him away!!". So we dug Freud out of the garbage and once again he is prominantly displayed on our fridge, for visitors to raise eyebrows at. I don't think he sees any humor in it as the rest of us do, it's just his honest self portrait. Funny.

.....................

The other day Jake got out again and my neighboor Nancy chewed me out pretty good. I've never seen Nancy made, until then. I probably deserved it. I'm not super careful with Jake. But the next day I took down our gate and repaired it, new pickets and all, which I should've done a long time ago. It felt good to swing a hammer and make a lot of noise. I really didn't know he was getting out so much. Apparently she had been putting him back in the back yard when he escaped but wasn't telling me about it untill finally she got really mad. But she came over the next day with a bed for Jake, a peace offering I guess. I have a hard time keeping track of dogs and children. The cops have brought Evan to me..twice I think.. can't remember now if it was more than once but seems it was. Luckily he's over his running away phase, I hope. Anyway, my life is crazy busy and sometimes I think I have situational ADD. It's hard to focus when I'm interupted every 5 minutes. Phone rings, doorbell rings, Jake scratches at the back door, Evan's hungry, I need to send invoices, do reconcilations, file an ammended state employement form which I can't even find and the dep. of revenue apparantly is on vacation because no one answers, school forms to fill out, library books overdue, pick up girls, house to clean, dinner to make... it's quite exausting. Then Taylor comes home from a rough day and says maybe he picked the wrong profession and what's for dinner and he's going to go blow off some steam and play volleyball.

Evans artwork

Um..this is what Evan made at preschool today.  His teacher handed it to me and said, "I'm not sure what to say about this. We gave the kids people cutouts and things to decorate them. Evan just added the styrofoam."

Silly boys

We're at Flanders park having a picnic. Viggo's so funny, always making faces for the camera.

Things I found in my minivan

Because it's a cross-section of my life, I will document the things I found in my minivan. Hope you're not eating right now.

mashed up potatoe chips
half-drunken orange juice in cupholder
metled crayons
lots of receipts
crusted mud from off someone's shoe
a blue tarp
reusable grocery bags
? brown spot on seat?
dog hair
small toy plane
pens
crumbled-up pancake
dog hair
apple core
lonely shoe (is this THE shoe or the OTHER shoe???)
thank-you card I never sent
plastic dinasour
lots of crumbs
four forks
toothpicks

in other words, evidence of a busy happy family with young children:)

Saturday car wash

I'm sitting in the car while Taylor is washing it with all 3 kids. Evan already got soap in his eye.

Home depot kids workshop

Thanks home depot for giving us something to do on a Saturday ;)

Our first week of sports

Hi,
We're at Olivia's soccer practice and thought I'd send some pictures.  All 3 of them are very excited about practices and games.  We've got the camp chairs set up enjoying the nice weather.  Oh, and Olivia did make her "sale goal" for the school fundraiser so she gets a limo ride to lunch with the principal.  She's pretty proud of herself.
Have a good weekend;)
Shannie

Emily in action on her first volleyball practice